Predators Haula in a Third-Line Centre
Alexander MacLean
2025-06-18
In the first real trade of the offseason, the Predators began their quest for a do-over, while the Devils are also in need of a bit of a shake-up. Erik Haula fills a bit of a need for the Predators at centre, and all it cost was a bottom-tier prospect (Jeremy Hanzel) and a 4th round pick.
What the Predators Get:
On the surface, Haula is a soon-to-be 35-year-old third-line forward who paced for 25 points last season, and was a minus player on a playoff team. The good news for Nashville is that Haula is a defensive centre, playing the tough minutes, and winning 53% of his faceoffs.
He can push a few more offensive minutes onto Ryan O'Reilly, and maybe Colton Sissons too. Not the top-tier of offensive centres mind you.
What the Devils Get:
Not a lot really. They shed an extra roster player, but they don't have a ton of internal competition. The biggest thing is likely shedding the extra cap. They now have $14 million in space to give Mitch Marner a run, or sort out how to trade for Quinn Hughes aa couple of years before he hits free agency and likely meanders over to the Devils anyways.
This might knock Nico Hischier down a little bit with having to take some extra load in the defensive zone.
Players this helps (ordered most to least):
Players this hurts:
Related Posts
Starting Goalies
Top Skater Views
| Players | Team | |
|---|---|---|
| RYAN LEONARD |
 WSH | |
| NAZEM KADRI |
 COL | |
| OWEN TIPPETT |
 PHI | |
| ROOPE HINTZ |
 DAL | |
| JOSH DOAN |
 BUF
| |
Top Goalie Profile Views
| Players | Team | |
|---|---|---|
| JAKUB DOBES |
 MTL | |
| JET GREAVES |
 CBJ | |
| KAREL VEJMELKA |
 UTA | |
| LINUS ULLMARK |
 OTT | |
| JESPER WALLSTEDT |
 MIN
| |
LINE COMBOS
| Frequency |
UTA Players
| |
|---|---|---|
| 22.4 | NICK SCHMALTZ CLAYTON KELLER LAWSON CROUSE | |
| 21.9 | JJ PETERKA ALEXANDER KERFOOT MICHAEL CARCONE | |
| 15.7 | KAILER YAMAMOTO DYLAN GUENTHER LOGAN COOLEY | |
DobberHockey Podcasts
Keeping Karlsson: The 2026-27 Keeping Karlsson Breakfast Club
Don’t you forget about them! Elan and Brian remind you of at least one player on each NHL team whose name you might forget to consider at the draft table.
Fantasy Hockey Life: Tampa Bay Lightning with Erik Erlendsson
Erik Erlendsson joins the program to discuss the Tampa Bay Lightning. Jesse and Victor ask about pros Nikita Kucherov, Jake Guentzel, Brandon Hagel, Brayden Point, Anthony Cirelli, Ilya Mikheyev, Gage Goncalves, Conor Geekie, Benjamin Rautiainen, John Carlson, Victor Hedman, Charle-Edouard D’Astous, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Jonas Johansson, and Dennis Hildeby. In Cat’s instincts, Cat Silverman of InGoal […]
Fantasy Hockey Life: New York Rangers with Colin Stephenson
Colin Stephenson joins the program to discuss the New York Rangers.
Keeping Karlsson: Matchup Maximizer Schedule Deep Dive
Elan is joined by the Keeping Karlsson Accountability Czar Trev to take a deep dive into the NHL schedule for next season and how it should affect our drafting decisions.
Fantasy Hockey Life: Carolina Hurricanes with Ryan Henkel
Ryan Henkel joins the program to discuss the Carolina Hurricanes. Jesse and Victor ask about pros Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis, Andrei Svechnikov, Nikolaj Ehlers, Jackson Blake, Logan Stankoven, Jordan Staal, Bradly Nadeau, Felix Unger Sorum, Shayne Gostisbehere, K’Andre Miller, Alexander Nikishin, Sean Walker, Brandon Bussi, and Pyotr Kochetkov. In Cat’s instincts, Cat Silverman of InGoal […]